Racing is scheduled to be conducted Friday-Sunday the first week (Dec. 4-6) and Thursday-Sunday the final two weeks (Dec. 10-13 and Dec. 17-20). Post time will be 1 p.m. on weekdays and 12:30 p.m. on weekends.

The $300,000 GI Starlet S. and the $200,000 GII Los Alamitos Futurity will be run, respectively, Saturday, Dec. 5 and Saturday, Dec. 19. Both races are at 1 1/16 miles and being offered at Los Alamitos for the seventh time.

Hall of Famer Bob Baffert won both the Starlet and Futurity for a third consecutive year in 2019 and has won all six runnings of the Futurity at Los Alamitos.

The other graded stakes race is the GIII Bayakoa S., which will be offered Sunday, Dec. 6.

Live racing will continue to be run with no spectators and only essential personnel allowed inside the facility to conduct the program.

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   Fifteen years ago, I first met today’s interviewee, Frank Nakano, while pitching the Breeders’ Cup as the perfect sponsorship for his client, American Express. Needless to say, that partnership never came to fruition, but a good friendship ensued. Over the years, Frank has been a valuable resource willing to share his professional perspective on understanding the motivations of a brand for wanting to engage with sports and lifestyle investment as a business platform since he has worked both for various brands and agencies as well as different sports properties (NHL and NBA). 

   Frank Nakano is currently the Managing Director of the Sports and Entertainment team at JP Morgan Chase who is responsible for working to cross firms aligning with the Chase brand with sports, entertainment and culturally-relevant properties that reflect the passion of customers. His team maintains a particular focus on the business outcomes of sponsorship and integrating various lines of business as appropriate for each relationship. 

   The JPMC portfolio is primarily focused on multi-purpose venues that attract fans 200+ times a year. Anchored by the longstanding partnership with the U.S. Open (USTA), the Madison Square Garden Company (Radio City Music Hall, Chicago Theater, Beacon Theatre and the Forum in Los Angeles), JP Morgan Corporate Challenge, Chase Field, Amelie Arena / Tampa Bay Lightning and the newly opened Chase Center that made its long-awaited debut in September of 2019), JPMorgan Chase was named Sponsor of the Year in 2017 by the Sports Business Journal.

   Prior to joining JPMC, Frank was Vice President of Marketing Partnerships at the National Basketball Association managing development and relationships with national brands including Nike, HP, Cisco, Taco Bell, Southwest Airlines and others in addition to overseeing the League’s partnership strategy and sales of the U.S. National Team program leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Prior to his role at the NBA, he served as the Vice President at Momentum Worldwide working as agency partner for American Express and Verizon Wireless after having worked nine years with the National Hockey League in the International Business Development Group.

CC: Do you have a favorite horse racing memory?

FN: Six years ago, we were somewhere outside of Dallas and a bunch of the guys I grew up with just happened to be in town. We went to the track because one of my friends enjoyed racing. The rest of us had no idea what we were doing. I asked what the most significant payout would be and they said, “You’ve got to pick the trifecta.” I picked based on favorite numbers and the names of the horses. I put 20 bucks down, and then didn’t pay attention as the race came up. As the horses finished, unbelievably, it came up in that sequence. So I won the trifecta for about four seconds, and then there was an announcement that there was an inquiry on the track. I asked my friend what that meant and he said,”that means you’re not going to win.”

CC: Why do you think sponsorship of venues, events and sports are an important element to a company’s marketing portfolio?

FN: For JPMorgan, sponsorship is really about being able to engage with customers in moments of passion. It’s a main reason as to why we focus on venues as they are the location where the memories happen. A lot of our competitors have developed terrific access programs at the point of sale, like the first to buy ticketing. Although we’ve done some of that, our premise is that we want to be present at that moment when you can experience and are engaged with your passion point.

Through this multipurpose venue strategy, we also learn a lot about our customers because every time they swipe their card, we know what kinds of events they were attending and what engages them with our brand, and we can hopefully eventually push the right kind of offer moving forward that is tied to their interests.

CC: Are there other benefits to being a sponsor that you don’t have with other forms of branding or traditional media efforts?

FN: Yes, definitely. I think sponsorship allows you to get deeper. Although it’s not as wide as advertising, you can go deeper into the personalization where your customer can immerse themselves between your brand and what engages them. This is very valuable as a brand, especially for us as a financial services institution, because it creates an emotional connection between us and our customers. It really gives us an opportunity to change a customer’s interaction with Chase and make their relationship not so transactional, because frankly, financial service is a fairly utilitarian product, but through these moments, we can give it some context, which is our ultimate goal.

CC: How many proposals do you receive in a year and what would be some of the key attributes you look for when you’re choosing a sports property or venue to sponsor?

FN: Our department receives and evaluates over 300 proposals a year. It’s certainly a cross between an art and a science, but since we’ve landed on this venue strategy because of the year-round opportunities, we then factor in key markets. Like any business, we want to present our brand either where it is not as present or prevalent, or where it is a growing business and looks to continue to sustain that momentum. We also look to enhance our sponsorships with elements that drive our community efforts. So every partnership that we engage has to have a component that gives back, because our bank is there and we want to be good citizens to that community.

CC: What’s the most outlandish proposal you have been pitched?

FN: Since we are not just in sports but also other entertainment spaces like culinary and musical categories, one of my favorites was from a music tour by an artist whose tour I will not name. It was essentially a song about–sorry for this word, but along the lines of “B**ch Better Have My Money” and the organizers of this tour thought it was appropriate to prepare a proposal because “Presented by Chase” would be a terrific tie due to the lyrics. It took a little while to try to understand the logic on that, but I got a good kick out of that one.

CC: What is a key mistake often repeated by rights holders?

FN: I think it is overestimating media value within the partnership. In most deals, the media elements are a component of the integrated package, but as a sponsor our core focus is really about the engagement with customers. We are certainly seeing that play out now in this abnormal period where there are no fans and no opportunity to engage. If our focus was to be on media, there are many more efficient ways to purchase those opportunities without having to partner with the rights holder.

CC: A current change in sports is the growing trend of legalized betting. As a financial institution, how does this new category marry up with your brand, and do you want to associate with venues or teams that would have sports betting partners?

FN: I think I’d separate how we think about it. We wouldn’t necessarily not do a deal with a venue partner because they have a sports betting component. We realize that that is certainly a trend moving forward. We ourselves aren’t getting involved in that medium and are not crazy about it. I feel there’s a certain drag on a property if they get too heavily invested in it, but we realistically understand where the industry is going and we would make sure that we are not in the middle of that association.

CC: With the U.S. Open taking place on Labor Day, what is your opinion of the event without fans?

FN: If you had asked me this four months ago, I would have said it would have been one of the worst things possible to think about, because it is such a grand event in what it represents in terms of fan engagement. In many ways, it is a core part of the magic of that event. In many ways, the U.S. Open is not even about tennis. It’s an end-of-the-summer-season event, it’s summertime in New York, it’s a global event. But now looking forward, I think it will be interesting and I think it will be a terrific symbol for New York and the sports world to be played without fans.

I think it will be interesting from a marketer’s perspective to see how we translate what’s so great about that event. Now we’re challenged with how do we bring it to an at-home experience? How do we engage people in the social aspect of it while they’re home with the celebrity factor? The goal is now focused on how do you get that energy to come through the screen? We’re excited to bring our experience to a fan-less U.S. Open and translate it to the at-home experience.

(Click here for JPMorgan Chase’s Activations for a spectator-free U.S. Open)

 CC: Based on your knowledge of the game, if you were a stakeholder in racing, what would you exploit to try to generate more interest from sponsors and advertisers?

FN: The beauty of the in-person experience. Until you see it up close, you can’t comprehend what great athletes the horses and the jockeys are and that there’s more to it than what appears to the layman. Then it’s the overall experience. I think that’s why people love the pageantry of the Kentucky Derby with its decades of tradition and festivities beyond the actual race itself. I would say that’s a great way to market it— as an experience. Similarly, Saratoga has built that tradition and there’s a destination element as well as a focus on racing. Focus on tradition and the pageantry of the sport.

CC: What’s the best sponsorship advice you have received and who gave it to you?

FN: I think it comes from my former boss, the guy that started the division I’m working in now. He had a very analytic approach to sponsorship. He said we’re never going to take away the emotion of it. That’s what it’s based on, but it has to be moved closer to a science than an art. I think the industry has traditionally been too loose in terms of not measuring itself and setting out goals. He emphasized a focus on the science behind it, especially in sponsorship where we did not want to be known as a company that went to games and fancy dinners. It should not be about us, but we should look at it from the customer perspective. How does sponsorship drive revenue? How does it bring people together? How does this strengthen the brand, and then most importantly, how do we prove that out?

CC: Is there a business mistake that you try to avoid at all costs?

FN: There’s a lot to them. I think you never want to take the emotion out of how you’re selecting, but I think you really want to make sure you’re doing your homework, looking at everything from not only the brand that you’re associating with, but the people that are going to be involved with it. Making sure that there’s enough flexibility within agreements, because the beauty of sponsorship is that it needs to evolve as you go along. You need to have enough structure in the agreement to protect your rights and get a set vision of what assets you are going to get. But you also need to be able to call an audible and adjust accordingly because things change so quickly and it’s not a commentary necessarily on the platform, but you just need to be able to pivot quickly. That entails some flexibility from the partner you’re choosing as well. As much as you can, have that understood up front.

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“Irad [Ortiz] gave him a beautiful ride,” winning trainer Chad Brown said. “He took advantage of his inside post. He trains that way and he’s a bit of a grinder. He’s a long distance horse and we’ve been wanting to get him back out to a mile and an eighth. Additionally, in his last race, this horse has never really trained good at Belmont. We ran him there because that’s where he was, but he just didn’t like the track that much. He had a nice work over the track here [at Saratoga] last week and we were optimistic he was going to run much better.”

When asked if the GI Runhappy Travers S. Aug. 8 was next, Brown said, “Obviously, the logical thing is to point him to the Travers at a mile and a quarter. I don’t think he’ll have a problem with the distance. We’ll have to see if he’s good enough. He hasn’t run many times and there’s room for improvement there. It’s a race we hoped to get him to and I’ll talk to Mr. Pompa about it.”

Fourth when unveiled on the turf at Belmont in October, Country Grammer earned his diploma next out with a decisive victory going nine panels on dirt at Aqueduct Nov. 11. Checking in fifth in Gulfstream’s GII Fountain of Youth S. Feb. 29, he checked in third behind Tap It to Win (Tapit) in a Belmont allowance June 4.

Pedigree Note:

Country Grammer is the second stakes winner and second graded winner from the first crop of MGISW Tonalist, following the filly Tonalist’s Shape. His dam Arabian Song has a now-2-year-old filly named Joyful Cadence (Runhappy), who was purchased by William Simon for $235,000 at Keeneland September, and the mare was subsequently sold to Abdul Aziz Al-Ateeqi for $5,000 in foal to Wicked Strong at the 2018 KEENOV sale. The resulting foal was a filly and is her most recent produce. The winner hails from the family of Group 1 winner Etoile Montante (Miswaki) and MGSW Starformer (Dynaformer).

Thursday, Saratoga
PETER PAN S.-GIII, $100,000, Saratoga, 7-16, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:49.79, ft.
1–COUNTRY GRAMMER, 120, c, 3, by Tonalist
1st Dam: Arabian Song, by Forestry
2nd Dam: Prima Centauri, by Distant View
3rd Dam: Willstar, by Nureyev
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($60,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP; $450,000 2yo ’19 OBSAPR). O-Paul P. Pompa, Jr.; B-Scott and Debbie Pierce (KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Irad Ortiz Jr. $55,000. Lifetime Record: 5-2-0-1, $117,320. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A+.
2–Caracaro, 120, c, 3, Uncle Mo–Peace Time, by War Front. ($95,000 Wlg ’17 KEENOV). O-Global Thoroughbred and Top Racing, LLC; B-SF Bloodstock LLC (KY); T-Gustavo Delgado. $20,000.
3–Mystic Guide, 120, c, 3, Ghostzapper–Music Note, by A.P. Indy. O/B-Godolphin, LLC (KY); T-Michael Stidham. $12,000.
Margins: NK, 3 1/4, 4 3/4. Odds: 4.10, 3.20, 1.75.
Also Ran: Celtic Striker, Modernist, Chestertown, Candy Tycoon, Mo Hawk, Katzarelli.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Ignored by the bettors despite a 4 3/4-length debut graduation at Gulfstream May 14, the dark bay stalked from a two-wide third as Make Mischief (Into Mischief) led Hara (Hard Spun) through an opening quarter in :22.29. Inching closer as the half went up in :45.57, Dayoutoftheoffice collared the pacesetter in early stretch and charged clear with fury for an emphatic six-length score. Make Mischief, a 16-1 shot, held second and Hopeful Princess (Not This Time) completed the trifecta. Heavily favored Beautiful Memories (Hard Spun) stumbled at the start and was pulled up approaching the far turn.

“We knew there would be a lot of speed, but I thought if we could be third or fourth early, we’d have a big chance,” said Hamm, who is the winner’s conditioner as well as co-owner. “When I saw her coming into the turn laying third, I thought we had a shot. We got the trip we were hoping to get. In the paddock, he [jockey Junior Alvarado] said to me, ‘into the turn if you could pick a spot for me to be, where would that be?’ I said third right outside the speed. When I saw him laying there, I said, ‘wow we’re still alive.'”

As for the beaten favorite, jockey Jose Ortiz said, “She stumbled out of the gate and was traveling OK, but she was getting a lot of dirt in her face. Going into the turn, she switched leads and I noticed she wasn’t traveling well, so I decided to take care of her. It was a tough decision to make. She had a small cut on her right front. I don’t think it’s serious.”

Her trainer Mark Casse, who also the conditioner of runner-up Make Mischief, tweeted, “Want to let everyone know that Beautiful Memories is fine. She stumbled hard at the start and has some minor scrapes. We are thankful for Jose Ortiz putting her safety first, easing her up when concerned.”

Pedigree Notes:

Dayoutoftheoffice is the 31st graded winner and 73rd black-type winner by her red hot sire Into Mischief, who also sired the Schuylerville runner-up. She is also the 16th graded winner and 58th black-type victor out of a daughter of Indian Charlie. Her dam Gottahaveadream, a half-sister to GISW Here Comes Ben (Street Cry {Ire}), produced a Carpe Diem filly in 2019 and a Bolt d’Oro colt Mar. 15 of this year. The winner also hails from the family of Grade I winners Daredevil (More Than Ready), Albertus Maximus (Albert the Great) and King Charlemagne (Nureyev).

Thursday, Saratoga
SCHUYLERVILLE S.-GIII, $100,000, Saratoga, 7-16, 2yo, f, 6f, 1:10.43, ft.
1–DAYOUTOFTHEOFFICE, 120, f, 2, by Into Mischief
1st Dam: Gottahaveadream, by Indian Charlie
2nd Dam: Chasetheragingwind, by Dayjur
3rd Dam: Race the Wild Wind, by Sunny’s Halo
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Tim E. Hamm and Siena Farm LLC; B-Siena Farms LLC (KY); T-Timothy E. Hamm; J-Junior Alvarado. $55,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $79,000. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Make Mischief, 120, f, 2, Into Mischief–Speightful Lady, by Speightstown. ($285,000 Ylg ’19 SARAUG). O-Gary Barber; B-Avanti Stable (NY); T-Mark E. Casse. $20,000.
3–Hopeful Princess, 120, f, 2, Not This Time–More Than Magic, by More Than Ready. ($27,000 RNA Ylg ’19 KEESEP). O-Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Elm Tree Farm, LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen. $12,000.
Margins: 6, 1, 10. Odds: 19.80, 16.60, 2.95.
Also Ran: Hara, Queen Arella, Quinoa Tifah, Beautiful Memories. Scratched: Sunny Isle Beach.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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In a subsequent press release Wednesday afternoon, Del Mar explained that all of the track’s jockeys and jockey room personnel were tested on Tuesday by San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency staff, with 15 jockeys showing up positive for COVID-19. All were reportedly asymptomatic.

“Assuming these individuals continue to show no symptoms, they will be isolated for a total of 10 days and should be able to resume their usual activities, including riding after that time,” said Dr. Eric McDonald, Medical Director, Epidemiology & Immunizations Services, County of San Diego.

“Racing will return on July 24,” added Joe Harper, Del Mar’s CEO, in the release. “Canceling this weekend’s races will give us additional time to monitor the situation and give the individuals who tested positive additional time to recover.”

This weekend’s card was scheduled to include the GII San Diego H. and the GII Eddie Read S.

Contact tracing procedures are underway in conjunction with the San Diego Health & Human Services Agency, the press release explained, pointing as a “common factor” to Los Alamitos, where five jockeys–Flavien Prat, Victor Espinoza, Eduard Rojas Fernandez, Luis Saez and Martin Garcia–who rode there over the July 4 weekend subsequently testing positive for COVID-19.

“Even though our jockey colony did not exhibit symptoms when they arrived at Del Mar, we made the decision to test everyone as part of protocols we have developed in conjunction with local medical experts and the San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency,” said Josh Rubinstein, Del Mar Thoroughbred President and COO. “We put these measures in place to help ensure the safety of all workers at Del Mar and our surrounding community.”

Del Mar is not permitted to release the names of the affected riders because of the Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act (HIPPA). However, it appears that one of the jockeys to have tested positive is Umberto Rispoli, who Tweeted Wednesday, “I’m feeling more than well, quarantined, and looking forward to comeback stronger than before.”

Jockey Drayden Van Dyke also Tweeted, “Tested positive yes, but feel good, thank god and will quarantine with respect for others.”

When racing resumed at Del Mar July 10, it did so with different restrictions regarding jockey COVID protocols than what had been instituted at Santa Anita to tackle spread of the virus. For example, jockeys weren’t mandated to be tested prior to riding over a weekend, as Santa Anita required.

That decision was reversed last Sunday, when Del Mar announced that before racing resumed this Friday, the track would test all jockeys and jockeys’ room personnel.

Unlike Santa Anita, Del Mar initially permitted jockeys and their agents onto the backstretch during morning training. A Del Mar spokesperson told TDN Monday that jockeys had since been barred from the backstretch.

In Wednesday’s press release, Del Mar outlined a series of enhanced jockey safety measures at the track.

For example, only jockeys based in California will be permitted to ride at Del Mar for the remainder of the meeting, barring out-of-state jockeys from competing at the track.

“The measure to restrict the riding colony follows a similar announcement Tuesday by the New York Racing Association concerning jockeys at Saratoga Race Course. Under Del Mar’s new policy, until further notice, local jockeys who leave the track to ride at other venues will not be allowed to ride again at Del Mar for the remainder of the summer racing meeting,” the press release stated.

Del Mar also announced that it was “re-configuring and expanding the track’s jockeys’ quarters, including moving some of the functions that normally take place in the jockeys’ room to an adjacent area.”

As noted in the press release, Del Mar has been screening, monitoring and testing backstretch workers and other personnel–part of a set of health and safety protocols formulated with direct input from medical experts in the community.

“We have worked with Del Mar to apply practical health protocols for its essential personnel and we applaud the track’s continued vigilance to help provide a safe environment for its work force,” said Dr. Ghazala Sharieff, MD, Corporate Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at San Diego’s Scripps Health. “We can reasonably expect that there will be some additional positive tests. The key is to provide strategies and protocols for testing, quarantining, containment and management, all of which Del Mar is doing in cooperation with local public health experts and officials.”

The Del Mar racing office also sent out additional information Wednesday afternoon to the horsemen, explaining that an extra sheet would be compiled for Friday, and there exists the possibility of additional days of racing being added. No jockeys will be permitted to ride workers until further notice.

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The ban on spectators for the racing programs remains in effect.

The change in policy for owners was made the day before the start of the Thoroughbred racing season at Saratoga Race Course.

According to the commission’s news release, once the overnight list of entries is published, licensed owners must make reservations in advance with the racing office to attend a race. No same-day requests will be accepted. Owners may not bring non-licensed guests with them.

To be admitted to the track, owners must pass a temperature check at a designated location and will be asked COVID-19 related health questions. Owners will not be permitted in grandstand or box seat areas and must sit in designated areas or watch from the apron area in front of the grandstand.

Owners must wear face coverings and follow social-distancing protocols. They will be permitted to enter the paddock and the winner’s circle, but must social distance.

To access backstretch locations, owners must meet the requirements that the track makes on its personnel or residents and display their license at the stable gate. Each owner must receive a temperature check and answer COVID-19 related questions. Owners must leave the backstretch at the conclusion of training and may not watch races from the barn area.

“Health and safety are our primary focus as we continue to work with New York state officials to determine the potential for broader spectator access during the 2020 summer meet,” said NYRA President & CEO Dave O’Rourke. “To be able to allow the participation of a limited number of owners reflects the progress made in New York to reduce the rate of COVID-19 infection.”

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“I don’t really have any symptoms,” Georux said. “I was a little bit tired Monday, but I had a long week last week. I didn’t have any shortness of breath or anything like that.”

In less than a week, jockeys Luis Saez, Martin Garcia, Victor Espinoza, Flavien Prat, Eduard Rojas Fernandez and now Geroux have tested positive.

Other than Geroux, the jockeys all rode at Los Alamitos and Saez, Garcia, Espinoza and Prat all rode at the Southern California track July 4.

Geroux does not know where and when he got the virus, but speculated that it might have happened Thursday at Keeneland when he dressed in the same room as Saez. Saez took a test Thursday, and when the results came back positive, the next day he was removed from all his mounts after the second race.

Geroux said he has returned home and has begun his quarantine period.

“I’m looking at the bright side of this,” he said. “It could be a lot worse. There are so many people in hospitals with this that are hooked up to respiratory machines.”

Geroux normally rides at Saratoga, but has decided to make Ellis Park his main base of operation for the remainder of the summer.

Saez and Geroux are two examples of riders who have crisscrossed the country of late only to wind up with the coronavirius, raising fears that traveling jockeys may be spreading the virus from track to track. Shortly before his positive test, Saez rode at Belmont, Los Alamitos, Indiana Grand and Keeneland. Prat rode at Del Mar Friday and at Keeneland Saturday. Geroux rode at Keeneland Friday, at Belmont Saturday and back at Keeneland on Sunday and was scheduled to fly out to Canterbury before returning to Ellis Friday.

Some tracks have put rules in place that only regular local jockeys can compete and there is a growing sentiment for more tracks to do the same. Geroux said the main problem with doing that would mean that it could prohibit out-of-town riders from coming in during the week of the GI Kentucky Derby.

“People are saying what about Saratoga, that Kentucky jocks or California jocks should not be allowed to go to Saratoga,” he said. “Maybe not, but what do you for Derby week? Should only the regular jockeys in Kentucky be allowed to ride? We welcomed everybody at Churchill [during the spring meet] and all the jockeys from New York came there to ride. At Keeneland last weekend, all the jockeys from New York came to ride their big horses at Keeneland and no one put a stop on that. So why shouldn’t Kentucky and California jockeys be able to ride in Saratoga? If they can’t, only the Kentucky colony should be allowed to ride Derby week.”

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The Virtual Community Outreach Booth program will highlight a total of 40 non-profits throughout the season by sharing information about their work and fundraising initiatives at NYRA.com/community.

“As we look ahead to a unique racing season, it is important to NYRA that we continue to highlight the work of non-profit organizations both in our industry and the Saratoga community,” said NYRA President & CEO Dave O’Rourke. “We encourage fans to visit our website throughout the season to learn more about the impact that these organizations have on our community.”

The digital edition of the program will serve as a temporary replacement to the Community Outreach Booth’s traditional on-track location, which sits prominently alongside the Jockey Silks Room near the Union Avenue main entrance and is a mainstay of the summer meet.

Under current New York State guidelines, Saratoga Race Course will open without spectators in attendance.

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A jack of all trades, Imbriale served as a backup to the legendary racecaller Tom Durkin beginning in 1990 and has held several behind-the-scenes roles with NYRA TV throughout the years as well.

Appointed to the position of head announcer in late January, the affable native of Queens, New York will be behind the binoculars as they line up for Saturday’s 152nd renewal of the GI Belmont Stakes.

“November of ’79 I started, and it’s been a good run and a good ride,” Imbriale said. “I got this opportunity and I hope to make the best of it.”

This year’s Belmont, now the first leg of the reshuffled Triple Crown, has been shortened to 1 1/8 miles and will be contested spectator-free due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Everybody knows it’s under different circumstances,” Imbriale said before adding with a laugh, “I come along, they change the distance, which order the Triple Crown is run in, no fans, etc. But you have to deal with the hand that you’re dealt. It’s still obviously very exciting and thrilling to be able do it on Saturday.”

TDN’s Senior Editor Steve Sherack caught up with Johnny I for a Q&A session as the big day approaches.

Q: New York sports is back and beautiful Belmont Park is back! Those were your words as you welcomed back not just racing in New York, but all of New York Sports, when Belmont re-opened for business June 3. This has just been such a surreal time for everyone throughout the pandemic, but how good did it feel to kick things back up and return to some sort of normalcy? And on a more personal level, getting your start as the No. 1 announcer at Belmont?

JI: I really thought about that race for quite a while. It was a unique scenario, even perhaps more unique than a Belmont S. Let’s hope that we don’t have to go through that again. Hopefully, [my call] came across O.K. There were some butterflies in the belly for the first race out. I’ll tell you that.

Q: That first race back, and your stretch call, was on almost every major New York news channel that evening. Other than the Belmont S., you don’t really see racing in that kind of spotlight in this media outlet anymore.

JI: It got a lot of coverage, which was really neat. I didn’t really think of it that way at first where our sport was the first one back in New York after all this time. Sometimes you get so involved in what you’re doing, that you kind of forget about the outside world. If the race went off at 1:18 p.m., I was a very happy camper at 1:20 p.m.

Q: Growing up in Queens and spending your college days at St. John’s, I take it you spent a lot of time at Belmont and Aqueduct? How did you catch the racing bug?

JI: Actually, my brother and some of my uncles were bigger racing fans than I was, and I would go occasionally. If they were going to go, I would tag along. It was clearly the Affirmed-Alydar match up in ’78 that got me the bug. And Affirmed and Steve Cauthen, I thought that was just a tremendous story. Affirmed was my first love as far as horse racing was concerned and I’ve been a fan ever since.

Q: Winning a NY Daily News contest has led to a lifelong career at NYRA and you celebrated your 40th anniversary with the organization in November. What do you remember about the contest and how it all came about?

JI: You had to make a tape–you could go to the track if you wanted to-but I actually made one in my brother’s living room, just did a recreation of a race. I sent that in, and from that, they narrowed it down to three people who would do a live call. Mine was July 25th of ’79, and up until that point, that was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been doing anything. [Track announcer] Marshall Cassidy was up there with me during the call.

The gig–you didn’t get anything as far as announcing was concerned-but you got a job in the press office, and as it turned out, they asked me to come on board. That was the end of July, and I started working for NYRA on Nov. 5 of ’79 in the press office doing notes, backstretch stuff, helping out doing the first media guide and then went from there.

Q: You’ve had plenty of different roles throughout the years at NYRA, including working alongside Harvey Pack on Inside Racing, as well as several behind-the-scenes responsibilities with NYRA TV. Looking back at all your time at NYRA, can you reflect a little bit? What are some of the things that stick out?

JI: It’s funny. During the 40 years, I’ve been a media specialist, a coordinator, an assistant announcer and now an announcer, a producer, a director, on-air talent, a host, a co-host, etc.

Really one of the first things that I did, or got involved in, has stayed with me for a long time. The weekly Frank Wright show that aired on Saturdays on Channel 9. You got to see the late double on Saturdays at Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga. I got to be in the production meetings as a liaison with Frank Wright, Charlsie Cantey, Marshall Cassidy, and learned how they put a show together. Those were really fun times as a young kid just getting my feet wet at the track, but also being involved in the only racing show that there was at the time.

Doing the stuff with Harvey, whether it be Inside Racing, you learn so much from watching different people without even having to ask questions. Whether it be him or Tom [Durkin]. The person who spent the most time with me regarding announcing was Marshall [Cassidy]. I would go next door at Aqueduct and do a call into a tape recorder and go back into the booth and he would watch the replay with me while listening to my call and he really helped me out a lot.

And listen, you don’t have to be a brain surgeon to pick up on some good things if you spent 24 years listening to Tom Durkin, either. One of the most important things he ever told me was that I shouldn’t listen to him. And what he meant was, he wanted me to develop my own style. Tom had a lot of good catch phrases that he used, and he didn’t think that’s what I should do. And he was right.

Larry [Collmus] was terrific for the five years he was with us, too, and now I have my chance to do my thing.

Q: That leads into my next question. Any announcers out there that you admire, past or present? Sounds like Tom would be at the top of the list?

JI: I firmly believe Tom is the greatest announcer that there has ever been. And it goes beyond some of his legendary calls, whether it be Rachel [Alexandra] at Saratoga or some of the near misses in the Belmont. It was really a daily freshness that he brought to his craft that I think is unparalleled.

The announcer who had the best voice was Dave Johnson. He just had a cadence–he was right there with where his voice was for a track announcer.

Q: Each announcer kind of does things a little differently getting ready for a day at the races, whether it be a colored program, playing out the race first off pp’s, etc. How much prep work goes into calling a card for you?

JI: I do color the program for the silks, and make notes for blinkers and caps. I make as many notes as I can. I’m not one to handicap though. Listen, Tap It to Win is supposed to go to the lead in the Belmont. You do have a little bit of anticipation in certain big races. But when it comes to the everyday stuff, I’m going to leave the ‘who’s going to be on the lead’ to the handicappers. One of the main reasons I say that, it’s that great phrase, ‘You never know what’s going to happen when they open those gates.’ You can think the four horse is going to the lead and he comes out a little slow and now you’ve got to adjust the call. I take the approach, ‘See the horses, call the horses,’ wherever they may come out.

Q: You touched on Affirmed and Alydar’s epic rivalry before and how much it influenced you. That has to be your favorite Belmont, right?

JI: No question, it’s still the greatest race I’ve ever seen in person and I was in the stands for that. To think that they went at it like that after the Derby and Preakness with a Triple Crown on the line–I don’t know if we’ll ever see a match up like that again.

Q: This year’s Belmont is obviously very different, but Tiz the Law is certainly a worthy headliner. Early thoughts on the race?

JI: With everything being so different this year and with horses being so lightly raced these days, we don’t know how good Tiz the Law really is yet. Maybe he’s a superstar. That’s kind of the mystery that makes it fun. That’s always the fun part about the 3-year-olds. You just don’t know when that horse is going to appear that the public is really going to embrace. We’ve got a major race to be run Saturday, so let’s see. Maybe Tiz the Law blows them out of the water. Or maybe we just have a good race and that becomes the story and we go from there.

Q: The gate won’t be lined up in front of the stands, and the building will be empty, but what kind of emotions will you be feeling as they head to the gate at 5:42 p.m. ET Saturday?

JI: Hopefully, controlled excitement. I’m following a tremendous group of broadcasters. It’s certainly a thrill and an honor.

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